 Apartment janitors face an increasing risk of losing their jobs amid the government’s plan to adopt the minimum wage system to them. Employers are moving to shed jobs instead of raising their pay. / Korea Times file |
The government announced Monday that it will postpone its plan to fully implement minimum wages for apartment janitors amid concerns that higher wages may undermine their job security.
But labor unions immediately criticized the move, demanding that it keep its promise for a pay rise, and at the same time guarantee job security.
Under the new plan, janitors will receive 90 percent of the minimum wage for general workers from next year to 2015 when full implementation of the system will be applied.
Grace period
“We decided to have a longer grace period before the full implementation of minimum wages for janitors to minimize any negative impact,” an official from the Ministry of Labor and Employment said. “We took into consideration that the originally planned pay raise may result in massive layoffs.”
Under the original plan, the ministry had planned to allow employers to adopt the minimum wages in phases before full implementation in 2012.
It was first proposed in 2007 to improve the welfare and working conditions for janitors working at apartments and parking lots, who currently receive paychecks lower than the country’s minimum wage.
According to a recent report, their average hourly wage was 3,912 won this year, lower than the legal minimum wage of 4,110.
No one is happy
Labor unions denounced the government’s decision.
“They should’ve prepared for any negative effects of the full implementation of the minimum wage system for janitors over the past five years,” said Shin Seung-hyun, president of the Apartment Workers Union. “What on earth have they done so far? And with only two months remaining before the full implementation, how could they break their promise?”
He argued janitors have been exploited — working longer hours but getting paid lower than the minimum wage, and therefore the system should be applied to them as promised and their job security should be guaranteed.
But employers are not happy about the government-mediated settlement, either.
“Although it’s 90 percent of the minimum wage, apartment residents still think it is a huge burden,” said Chae Soo-cheon, head of the Gyeonggi Branch of the Apartment Residents Union. “If we have to increase their pay, we may have to fire many of them and instead install more security cameras.”
The measure, initially designed to help janitors, may now make them the biggest victims, he said.
Such claims consequently are worrying tens of thousands of janitors nationwide as it could jeopardize their job security.
Sohn Byung-hak, 63, who has worked at an apartment complex in Seoul for years, is one of those concerned that any change could risk his job.
“A pay raise is good only when we are able to work. We don’t want it if it puts our job on the line,” Sohn said. “Even if we’re underpaid, how could we say we need more.”
According to the labor ministry, there are about 400,000 janitors, of which 85 percent are aged 60 or over.
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